Concerned listeners of KWMU

Interim GM speaks with audience on KWMU

2008-06-11T17:58:00.000-07:00

Interim GM Mike Dunn did something today on the air of KWMU that we're not sure Patty ever did: he had a conversation (instead of a guilt-ridden, horn-honking rant during a pledge drive) and lived up to the station's promise of 'intelligent talk.'

Mr. Dunn did very well to keep the healing going Wednesday with his cool, calm demeanor on KWMU's "St. Louis on the Air." Many callers voiced their hesitancy to pledge during Patty's reign, if for no other reason than her condescending aura when she spoke on air during the pledge drives.

You can listen to Mr. Dunn on the show here.

Also:
* - The public radio newspaper Current came out with a follow-up article, where Patty again defends herself -- read that article here.
* - If you haven't yet read Mr. Dunn's letter to the community on the KWMU website, you can do so here.
* - Chad Garrison, the RFT writer who broke the Wente story, blogged about the recent discussion of KWMU on Donnybrook - read that blog post here. (Go Chad!)
* - The RFT printed some of its letters to the editor in response to Patty's firing.

UM President supports Wente firing

2008-06-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

University of Missouri President Gary Foresee (left) stands by UMSL's decision to fire Patty, as noted towards the end of this Post-Dispatch article.

Also, the old-timers at Donnybrook discussed the firing on their June 5th show, starting at about the 13th minute.

Delusions of innocence

2008-06-05T05:20:00.001-07:00

After her firing this week, Patty made an extremely predictable move: Try to appear as the victim. New articles appear today in the Post-Dispatch and Business-Journal.

Sigh.

Meanwhile, we hear the new interim GM is already making rational and necessary decisions and changes that should have been made years ago.

UMSL fires Wente

2008-06-03T03:52:00.000-07:00

KWMU employees were called into a meeting Monday afternoon to be informed that Patty Wente is no longer the station's general manager (or CEO, or whatever title she was carrying at the time).

The university released a statement, and news coverage soon followed at:

the Riverfront Times
the Post-Dispatch
KWMU

Fearing inconvenient questions from irate employees, Wente scales back staff retreat

2008-05-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

With less than 24 hours notice, Patty Wente cancelled a staff retreat scheduled for Thursday. Even though a conference room had been rented outside UMSL and a paid consultant already flown to St. Louis, Wente decided to include only her “senior team” in the gathering.

It is obvious that Wente, who has not yet answered allegations in separate articles by the Riverfront Times, St. Louis Business Journal and the public broadcasting newspaper Current, fears basic questions from her staff, who can confirm the truth of everything in the articles.

This retreat from the retreat is no surprise though. Wente ran and hid from Riverfront Times reporter Chad Garrison when he showed up unannounced at KWMU in April. All Garrison wanted to do was ask a few inconvenient questions of his own about Wente’s use of donor and taxpayer money.

Public broadcasting trade magazine highlights national embarrassment of Patty Wente’s mismanagement

2008-05-27T14:10:00.000-07:00

Current, the newspaper for public radio and television insiders, (not to be confused with the UMSL student publication of the same name) ran an article today about Patty Wente’s unethical and incompetent management practices.

Specifically, it focused on her phony pledge matches during membership campaigns, where listeners were led to believe “dollar for dollar” challenges were being met by donations from local businesses. However in reality many businesses had already bought underwriting announcements, and their purchases were passed off as legitimate “challenge” grants, where, for example a $40 pledge would automatically become $80. In many cases Wente perpetrated this scam without the full knowledge of the business owners.

If Patty Wente’s apologists continue to insist she’s “respected” in public broadcasting circles, don’t be fooled. If she were respected at all, a national publication could have certainly found some supporters in the ranks of NPR and its stations. If Wente had any self respect, she would have resigned, now that the university’s “review” is in its fifth week.

Keep in mind, though that this probe is not being conducted by the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Lawyers in Columbia with the University of Missouri system are handling the investigation along with auditors from PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Wente continues to act like nothing is wrong. However she has not once responded to the serious allegations in the May 7 Riverfront Times article. Staff at KWMU say she has even summoned employees to a day-long “retreat” on Thursday at a rented outside facility, and is paying yet another consultant to discuss the future of KWMU, though it’s doubtful she’ll discuss the present.

If this investigation is indeed legitimate, Wente should be placed on administrative leave immediately, and not be allowed to wantonly spend donor and taxpayer money on consultants.

Be sure to e-mail University of Missouri System President Gary Forsee forseeg@umsystem.edu, and the Board of Curators and demand action immediately!

Why is Patty Wente still on the job?

2008-05-22T06:56:00.000-07:00

A newspaper article exposes questionable spending at a non-profit. Within days, the board that runs the non-profit puts the organization's top leader on paid leave, pending the outcome of an investigation.

Of course there's no way we're talking about KWMU because KWMU has no board with any actual authority (just look at last night's Friends Board meeting, where nothing happened and nothing pertaining to the ongoing crisis was mentioned).

No, the scenario I describe here happened in New York, at the American Bible Society.

See for yourself here.

So, we ask one more time: Why hasn't Patty at least been put on paid leave during the university's investigation?

Make your voice heard Wednesday at the friends board meeting!

2008-05-17T05:10:00.000-07:00

Want to find out where your $50 and $100 contributions went? Ask Patty Wente (if she doesn’t run and hide again) and the KWMU friends board. Their next meeting will be Wednesday, May 21 at 6 p.m. at the St. Louis Club:

7701 Forsyth
Clayton, MO 63105
Lewis & Clark Room, 14th Floor

Questions you might want to ask:

Why has Ms. Wente (or her apologists at UMSL) not responded in any way to the concerns raised in the Riverfront Times article?
Why isn't there a governing board with real authority to oversee a public institution that is run with taxpayer money and charitable donations?
Why did Doreen Dodson resign from the friends board?
Does the board have a plan to keep funding flowing now that many listeners have vowed to withhold future donations?
Why doesn't the capital campaign have more to show for nearly a million dollars in expenses?
Will KWMU’s donors and the friends board be apprised of the review team’s findings? If so, when?

New Business-Journal article about KWMU

2008-05-16T06:17:00.000-07:00

The St. Louis Business Journal has a new article today about the KWMU crisis, with information about the ongoing capital campaign. The article confirms that the $12 million bid for a building is also part of the university's investigation.

For many people at KWMU, the capital campaign has never passed the smell test. The numbers just weren't adding up. They only seem to barely raise enough money each month to cover the consulting fees of Mr. Ostroff.

Click the image below to enlarge:

KWMU board member resigns

2008-05-15T15:20:00.000-07:00

“Friends of KWMU” board member Doreen Dodson had the good sense today to distance herself from Patty Wente, KWMU’s maven of mismanagement.

Keep in mind that while the friends board collects all those checks after pledge drives, it has no real oversight authority. And Wente picks the board members...just like a dictatorship. Those who dare to ask questions usually don't stay long.

Wente remains on the job, delusional and defiant as ever

2008-05-15T15:18:00.000-07:00

This was posted today on Mike Anderson’s stlmedia.net

Secret Squirrel and Tasha been sniffin' round KWMU...
The on-going investigation of KWMU's Patricia Wente and the legal/accoungting team now enters Week 3 and sources say Ms. Wente is remaining defiant and is very confident that she is not going to leave KWMU nor does she expect the investigation from the legal or accounting side to push her out.
While the outcome of the investigation has not been finalized, Patty is expressing verbally in the business community via phone calls and luncheons that the legal/accounting review will not change her style.
Just when we thought the RFT's story might make a difference, she appears to hang on to her job (she's was never placed on administrative leave to begin with) and the status quo remains intact.
OOH! Wente's got gravitas!

…as if abuse, fraud and mismanagement can be considered a “style.”

However, neither Wente, nor anyone in KWMU management, nor anyone at UMSL has denied anything written in the Riverfront Times.

RFT dedicates entire letters section to angry KWMU listeners

2008-05-15T14:16:00.000-07:00

People who care enough about a radio station to open their wallets and checkbooks were unsurprisingly miffed at the revelations of corruption and abuse in last week’s article.

Read some of their responses here.

Item about KWMU investigation tops Post-Dispatch's most-emailed list

2008-05-11T11:30:00.001-07:00

Most emailed stories for May 10, 2008:

1. Red flags spur inquiry into KWMU books

2. Some Wall Streeters are betting on a beer merger

3. Backlogs frustrate St. Louis courts

4. Earthquake felt in Mo. bootheel

5. Padres release Edmonds

6. Evangelicals press to fight global warming

7. College Bound cries foul

8. Developer brings top-line amenities to small condos

9. Local architects find opportunities overseas

10. Recording: Blunt lawyer warned bosses about e-mail policy

Riverfront Times exposes mismanagement at KWMU (again)

2008-05-09T14:34:00.002-07:00

Riverfront Times reporter Chad Garrison has written a
lengthy and detailed expose of KWMU General Mismanager Patricia Wente (photo by a Sarasota Co. Sheriff's Deputy) and her 19-year reign of terror.

Despite their quotes to the contrary, officials at the University of Missouri St. Louis, of which KWMU is part, have known about Wente's abuse of staff and misuse of station funds and resources for years, but they've done nothing. UMSL will continue to cover Wente's corruption as long as they can. A similar Riverfront Times article in 1999 was met with zero action by the UMSL administration.

But there's hope.

UM-St. Louis is part of the University of Missouri's four-campus system, and the system's attorneys and auditors are conducting a management review of KWMU, thanks to the action of the new system president Gary Forsee.

Make your voice heard!

If you're a fan of, and especially a contributor to KWMU, the station needs your support more than ever. Please contact Mr. Forsee and demand immediate, positive change at KWMU!

While you're at it, be sure to ask UMSL Chancellor Thomas George why he did nothing even after he was repeatedly told of Wente's unacceptable behavior.